No Time to Waste
by Mirai Akemi
Summary: Mariellena Lorian never got a normal life. What she read in novels or saw in movies could almost never apply to her, and it never would. After the disappearance of her brother, Skylar, she vowed that she herself would find him, along with the help of Sly and the Gang. Mariellena seeks out to find the last of her family and the truth of her family name that she never wanted to know.
1. Intro

**Mariellena Lorian**

She was placed in Happy Campers Orphanages with her brother after the death of their parents, due to a plan crash. After just a couple months, her brother, Skylar, goes missing leaving behind a phone number. Knowing it would be confiscated from her, she lied to the authorities about anything being left behind for her, understanding that he left by his own intentions. She then decided once they could leave, her and the Cooper Gang would try to contact him and find out why he left and never came back.

Her slender build and athletic capabilities allow her to be the best one out them that can follow Sly's pace during heists.

Mariellena's weapon of choice is a double bladed spear, and due to Bentley's upgrades, it can also be shortened into two daggers. Perfect for travelling.

* * *

It's a bit weird to be back -Mirai Akemi


	2. Il faut aimer ce que l'on a

Paris. A beautiful city really. Nights are bright with lights that attract people from all over the world. Landmarks and museums that not only attract tourists but thieves as well. However, that's not really the reason why we're out here during this fine evening. Tonight, our target is the Interpol HQ. Bentley, Murray, and I are currently waiting for Sly to get into position for tonight's heist.

Bentley, the brains of our operations, was meticulously typing away at his keyboard. I can only imagine what goes on in that head of his. All I see are equations of complex algorithms, logic beyond compare, and a tinge of anxiety towards Sly's carelessness and tendency to improvise whenever things go wrong. Without him, we wouldn't be able to make our great escapes, let alone plan any heists.

I was sitting shotgun in the van, beside Murray. Nervous, he pulled out a sandwich from the glove compartment in front of me and started munching away. He's the brawns of our operations, one who punches first and acts later. He's also the team driver, and at heart, a softie. It's always fun coming up with new recipes for him try, as well as going to a drive every now and then to let off steam or gain a bit of adrenaline during the long waits between some heists.

"Sly! Come in! Sly! Do you read me?!" I jumped a little at the sound of Bentley's voice. Murray coughed up a bit of lettuce.

"Yeah. I read you. Loud and... very loud." I could hear Sly's voice through my own earpiece. I guess you could say he was the leader, as he was the main reason we all became thieves anyways. Tonight's heist was very close to Sly's heart, not that it was for him to steal his own police file, but to uncover those who took away his past.

Sly is currently the last one in the Cooper line, and he is following suit in becoming a master thief. As a child, he learned of the Cooper Clan from his father and from the book he passed down to him, the Thievius Raccoonus. However it was the Fiendish Five who took it all away from him; his family, the book, and his childhood. It was then when he was placed in Happy Camper Orphanage, and our history was set.

"Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Trying to break into police headquarters does that."

I chuckled a bit, a bit from nostalgia and a bit from Bentley's worried head.

It goes to say that the heist went as usual. By usual I mean that we get what we want and Carmelita shows up last minute in trying to arrest Sly. I mean it's nice, but I feel like she's playing favourites in forgetting that without arresting the rest of us, we could easily break him out of jail. I sighed in annoyance when I heard her predictable threats. I heard a snicker from Sly over the earpiece.

"Are you jealous or something, Mariellena?" I scoffed.

"I'm a bit insulted that you'd think I care in the slightest," I played along with the lighthearted banter, despite the anxiety of other two, both getting ready for the get away.

"Oh, you know I only have eyes for you," he said, out of breath as he was jumping from car to car.

"I think you need to get your eyes checked" I said turning around in my seat as the van doors opened to let Sly in. He jumped in, not able to stop himself from collision, sliding into the back of my seat and almost onto Bentley.

"Nah, I can see what I want just fine."

* * *

Not too bad for a first chapter? -Mirai Akemi


	3. Raccoon got your tongue?

Sly was unlocking the canon as I had adjusted my spear into daggers and slipped them into a holster. I took a good look at our surroundings, thankful that we would be done and out of here within the hour hopefully.

"Are we both going to fit in there?" I peered in as Sly already made himself comfortable.

"Don't worry, I'll be going in first. I'll be there to steady your landing," He tipped his hat as to ease the tension of the current situation. We were going to launch ourselves onto the blimp of the first member of the Fiendish Five. His anxiety was palpable, but I'm sure as soon as he sees Raleigh he'll be fine. He'll want to pummel his face in, but he'll be fine.

I watched as he soared up into the dark sky, seeming as if the rain didn't affect him at all. I quickly followed suit, taking in how quickly the ground seemed to disappear from my feet. Upon landing, I just barely managed to squeeze through the broken window Sly already crashed into. He caught and helped me regain my balance. No broken extremities, no bruises, so far so good.

Across the room, in an unecessarily tall throne, sat Sir Raleigh, certainly displeased with our grand entrance.

"How delightful. We have a guest. The only thing is... I HATE UNEXPECTED GUESTS!" I flinched at how quickly he changed from calm and collected to the deepest inferno of hell.

"Listen, Raleigh. Wipe out my family and steal what's mine, you better expect company" Sly said taking a step forward towards him. There's our hero.

"Ohhhhhh, I'm every so sorry. How sloppy of me not to finish the job. Obviously we should have snuffed you out as well. Not to mention it seems like we missed the little Lorian in the mess," I perked up, confused.

"You don't know anything about me, don't talk as if you do!" I interjected. I was only in this mess to help a life-long friend to put back together his family's heirloom. Raleigh chuckled.

"Oh I know quite a lot, but don't worry you'll join your father soon enough," I felt a pang in my chest, and then I felt nothing but rage. " So, without further ado, let me make amends by, what- BLOATING TO GARGANTUAN SIZE, AND SQUASHING YOU LIKE THE INSIGNIFICANT BUG THAT YOU ARE!"

"Bring it on!" I had completely forgotten Sly was right beside before I heard his voice and felt hand pull my arm. I turned towards him, but my eyes not leaving Raleigh as he swallowed one of the many flies buzzing about. He did bloat to gargantuan size, and I guess I had underestimated how big he could actually become.

"Don't get distracted, Marie. He'll be focused on me for the most part, just be careful not to fall off the platforms. I'll go this way" Sly ruffled my hair before taking off to the next platform.

I watched as Raleigh bounced off his throne and onto Sly's platform. He hopped from corner to corner, Sly was dashing around as to avoid being crushed. I jumped from platform to platform, hoping that I'd be able to get him from behind. Raleigh lost his breath and returned to his regular small stature. I quickly clasped the ends of my daggers together, putting together my spear as I jumped on the platform right beside Sly's. Before Raleigh could fall into the water, I used the distance to my advantage. I forced one end of the spear just below the water before forcing it up like a shovel.

"Sly! Hit him now!" I called out, and he did not delay. Sly slashed him with his cane. throwing him flying into the wall. Raleigh quickly recovered, finding another fly to swallow. Then before I could move, the platform below me started to sink. I jumped onto Sly's platform, barely making it. Sly caught me by my free arm, hoisting me up to stand properly. But before I could thank him, Raleigh launched himself between us.

"Nowhere to run now!" Raleigh laughed maniacally as he continued to bounce around, now targeting me. I dashed, I rolled, all in the attempt to avoid him. For a moment I couldn't focus on anything. My vision was blurry and it felt like I was going to fall over. Everything almost went dark, but I was tugged to the side just as Raleigh crashed down, exhausted. Sly swiped his cane at his tired physique and fell into the water. "You will both fall like your fathers! I did it once, and I can do it again!"

"Do you think you can jump? You don't have to make any other move, just as long as you can jump?" I nodded before he took my hand and pulled me as we jumped from platform to platform, as Raleigh chased after us. His desperation was catching up to him as I felt his tongue wrap around our ankles. We fell back onto the platform behind us, landing on our sides facing each other. "Time for plan B?"

"We didn't even have a plan A!" I replied frantically, trying to think quickly. I tried to sit up as much as I could, dismantling my spear into daggers. I then used the butt of one of them and slammed it down onto his tongue. Raleigh immediately let go, dizzy from the pain. Sly then jumped up back into the action, giving him one more blow, and causing him to land in the water. Raleigh had stopped fighting back.

"Blath ith all! You'fe beathen me!" I didn't think I did that much damage, I even avoided using the blade to avoid making it all bloody. Sly and I shared a snicker.

"Well, gnoath all you wanth, Thy Cooper. You guyth are no math for Muggthot, my vinnainouth cohorth in Uthah"

"Can you understand what he's saying?" I asked Sly

"Nope," he replied carelessly, jumping off towards the safe beside Raleigh's throne.

I jumped after him and peered over his shoulder to take a look of what pages of the Thievius Raccoonus Sly had found.

"Who's that?"

"My Ancestor, Rioichi Cooper. With this I can finally learn the Ninja Spire Jump" he replied, quite satisfied with his new find.

"Look at you, already excited to put it to use" I nudged him a bit, congratulating him on getting the first couple pages of his book.

"Sly! Marie! We gotta get outta here now!" We heard Bentley panic over our earpieces, as well as the distant sound of police sirens.

"Sure thing, let's get going" Sly replied grabbing my hand once again and dashing off.

"How are we supposed to get off this blimp?" now I started panicking, and it seemed to give Sly a laugh.

"Just trust me, there's always a way." He looked back, flashing a smile at me. The worry seemed to wash away after that.

* * *

On the field already -Mirai Akemi


	4. You don't choose your family

I slumped back on my bed, or rather, the sofa. We spent a bit of time in England, crashing in a motel and on a real bed for once before heading back to our Paris hideout. The gang had given me my own room, as I was the only girl. Not that it really mattered, I've gotten used to them since a young age, but Bentley insisted.

Sly and Bentley were discussing details about the next heist, about how we'd get to Utah and the overall security of Muggshot's casino. I decided I would ask about it later and just get a bit of rest as my body and eyelids felt heavy. However when my head touched the pillow, I couldn't sleep. As much as I wanted to, I'd lay there for 15 minutes with my eyes closed and I would never drift off to the soothing slumber I suddenly craved. I decided to sit up, pushing off the tattered blanket that may have been making it too hot to fall asleep.

I wandered around my room for a bit, just to think. I probably just had a lot on my mind, so I pondered on everything my mind set focus on. The room was small. The desk is chipped, which may have happened when I was sharpening my blades. I had a lamp on it that didn't work. I taped the phone number my brother left for me on the lampshade...

I want to call him, and I've tried. He never picked up, it was sent directly to voicemail because it was always off. Perhaps it was never the right time, or maybe it wasn't safe. But I just want to see my brother again.

* * *

"Sky,"

"Yeah, Marie?"

"When are Mommy and Daddy coming home?" I was playing with the hem of my dress as we sat in an office, all by ourselves.

"Soon. Maybe in a couple weeks." Skylar was looking around the room.

"Can we go meet them in the airport? Can I make a big sign that says 'Welcome home Mommy and Daddy!'? Y'know like they do in the movies!" I was getting excited, standing in the chair I was in and using Skylar's head for balance. He tilted his head up slightly to look at me.

"Yeah, I'll help you make it. I'll let you know when they're coming," he smiled a little bit, and I guessed he was just not as excited as I was.

"Yay! We'll use the paint and glitter Daddy got me for my birthday!" I was hopping up and down, but as we heard footsteps, Skylar quickly told me to hush and sit down properly. He took my hand and held it as the steps came closer, and eventually faded away.

"Hey, Marie,"

"Yeah?"

"Can you hum that song Mommy used to sing?"

* * *

Skylar was always anxious. Even when we made friends he was always worried about what Sly, Murray, and Bentley thought of him. He usually closed himself off, writing stories for himself, but every once in a while he'd join us to steal cookies or play spy. If things were really bad for him, I usually hum mom's old lullaby until he calmed down or fell asleep. It's a bit tough to imagine him out there by himself, although he was the eldest one.

I wasn't sleepy anymore, so I decided to make some tea and just relax. When I peeked into the next room, I had expected to see Bentley and Sly still going over some files, but there was just Sly who was leaned back in his chair, hat covering his face. He was asleep, and it seems like Bentley probably stepped out to help Murray figure out something with the van. I made an attempt to be quiet, as I tiptoed over to him. I took a sip of my tea before setting it down on the table in front of me. I saw maps, documents from opened files. They were hard at work trying to figure who was who and where they were, no wonder why Sly fell asleep. He hadn't really slept since we got to England.

I took my time trying to move the hat from his face so that I wouldn't wake him up, but I jumped a little bit when I saw his eyes were open underneath the security of the hat.

"Isn't it a bit creepy to stare at someone while they're resting?"

"Who said I was staring, I was looking at all the work Bentley did, and you have nothing to show for it"

"Hey, I worked hard too, I just thought I needed a quick nap." We shared a quick laugh, and everything was silent. We basked in each other's presence, not really sure what to do or what to say. I leaned back onto the table, taking a sip from my tea.

Sly had always been something else. Always ready to act on the defensive or the offensive at any time. Quite cunning and, might I say 'sly', I've always admired that part of him. Whether if it was something more than that, I'm not really sure, but I'd like to know if it was something he also noticed upon our interactions.

"Up to anything in particular?" he asked, I guess he was grasping at air for something to talk about.

"No, not really."

"You haven't called your brother in a while. Why is that?"

"I mean you can only call someone so many times until you realize maybe they don't want to be found. It's been 15 or 16 years?" Sly seemed a little hurt in my reasoning. Perhaps he'd thought I lost hope, and maybe I had. "It's possible that he just forgot about me too."

"Skylar wouldn't ditch you if it meant he got a good life. We wouldn't, at least I wouldn't," I smiled at his attempt to reassure me. "Sure you're a vital part to the team, but honestly it would suck without you."

"That's cute, Sly"

"I'm serious, Marie. We do care about you. I care about you."

His last statement sent my heart reeling. It was quiet again, a little bit more tense than it was before. I'm not too sure what it should mean to me, but it felt nice to hear it from him.

"Thanks. I care about you guys too. You're all I have." silence again, except Sly returned the sentiment with a smile. Bentley called from the door.

"It'll be a long trip, let's start packing up!" Sly stood up as if on cue.

"Let's get this show on the road, darling."

* * *

Here we go -Mirai Akemi


	5. Double or nothing

It's not often that we go to the U.S either between or during heists. Seemed nice in some places, and not so nice in others. I mean I don't blame anyone, France does have it's share of shady buildings, as did almost every other place we've pulled a heist. It was always a reliable safe-house, as it was of course closest to the goods.

"Actually, I don't really think I fancy casinos" I was thinking out loud as we headed towards Muggshot's casino.

"What's not to like about the copious amount of money all stashed in one place" Sly replied, just a couple steps ahead of me.

"Just too many flashing lights to my liking."

"I see what you mean" he responded with a laugh. He came to an immediate stop, and I just barely pushed him into all the locks. He lost his breath and almost fell over. I pulled him back by his bag.

"Sorry about that," I apologized before helping him open each lock.

"Don't worry. You did no harm, darling."

"Why do you always call me that? I have done nothing to deserve that nickname."

"You've never really fought against it. Plus, you're our darling Mariellena, so why not?"

Bentley piped in through the earpiece. "She is not my darling," then there was gagging in the background by who I assumed to be Murray.

"Fine, you're my darling"

"How sweet, but don't you have something to do? Like... I don't know? Retrieving Muggshot's part of the Thievius Raccoonus?" I asked just as the entranced opened up for us.

"I like the way you think... darling" I rolled my eyes as he ran off first, but I did pause for a moment before following him.

* * *

The room we entered was crowded with mirrors, and light shone everywhere. I felt like I was almost blinded in the process.

"What? My boys have been yapping about some big mysterious dude and his lady running around cracking skulls and, and this is it? You're the monkey wrench in my operation? Some scrawny rats with sticks..." Sly and I glanced over at each other. His description wasn't technically wrong. "Wait a second... I've seen one of those sticks before."

"Maybe when my father knocked your block off with it." Sly twirled the cane in his hand, quite proud of his remark.

"Your father? Wow, you're a Cooper? You know that Thingus Raccamagoocus had a lot of nice pictures but WAY too many big words." I grew impatient.

"So you don't mind just hand it over." I forced myself into the conversation.

"What are you kidding, little lady? You two break into my place, steal my stuff, trash the join. I feel transgressed and violated. Let's rock!"

A cage came crashing down, and Sly and I were caught in the middle with Muggshot. There were mirrors along the sides and corners, and crystals came up through the ground. Bentley yells into our earpieces something about burning him with the light, and Sly and I made our ways to different mirrors. After turning the last mirror, Muggshot let out a distraught cry.

"My beautiful gun is destroyed! Good thing I got a spare upstairs" We could afford to lose him, so Sly signaled me over to an elevator and we awaited the next floor. There was no cage, no walls, just more mirrors and crystals. Sly and I separated like we did before.

I can't lie, he was probably a better shot than Carmelita. I had been grazed by a couple bullets, but all went well. He got burned, but he made his way to the elevator yet again. Sly and I did not waste any time trying to catch up to him. However upon getting up there, I realized there was no third floor. It was a chandelier, and Muggshot was standing in the middle of it all. Sly spire jumped onto the light in front of him, looking at me to do the same.

"Sly, I don't know..."

"I taught you in England, remember? When we were trying to get into Buckingham Palace."

"I do remember, I just don't think I'll land."

"Just trust me. I'm right here" He held out a free hand for me. I looked down and my heartbeat wouldn't slow down. Muggshot was growing impatient.

"You're going to wimp out now, Lorian? Wimp out like how your father did?"

Like how my father did? How would I know? I want to know but goddamn I can't. He died with the rest of this family's secrets. I'll never know.

"What do you know?!" In rage, I had pulled my spear apart and threw a dagger at him. It barely got him, cutting his cheek before it fell down to the first floor. I went ahead like Sly had taught me on the gates of Buckingham Palace. I quickly grabbed hold of Sly's hand for balance. "We're not going to just sit here. Let's go!" I jumped to the next bulb on my right.

We turned each mirror, and at last Muggshot fell down and never got back up.

"Dis is impossible! Pipsqueaks like you guys beating a big strong bruiser like me? It ain't right! You want all of that stupid picture book, you gonna have to go down to Haiti to cross paths with Mz. Ruby. And then believe me you don't want to be you." I looked down at him, seeing past the empty threats, I continued to wonder what was so special about my family that Muggshot and Raleigh also knew. Did all of the Fiendish Five have something to do with my dad? I don't even know what my dad did. I sighed, before following Sly back down to the vault.

I found my other dagger, and it seemed that I was a little too rough with it. Some of the wiring came out upon the disassembly, and I figured I'd probably have to lay low and behind Sly for the trip back to the van. I looked over at Sly who was immersed in the pages that Muggshot kept.

"Which ancestor did he get?"

"Tenessee Kid Cooper, my gunslinging ancestor." He looked up at me with a grin, as he had found something new to learn. Then sirens went off in the distance, and it seemed like they were only getting closer.

"Let's explore that chapter when we're home and safe" I tugged him by the arm. He quickly packed the pages away, before pulling me along for our escape.

* * *

\\('A')/ -Mirai Akemi


	6. Left and never looked back

When we returned to Paris, I had asked Bentley if I could borrow his laptop to do some of my own research. He slid it over as he worked on my daggers.

I looked on every search engine but I saw no results for Quentin Lorian, even if I tried searching my mom's name, Florine Lorian. I tried just searching Lorian, but I just got news articles about the gang. I sighed, losing a little bit more hope. I then tried looking up Skylar Lorian, and I didn't exactly get what I expected to see.

Articles were everywhere about a successful idol, Katarina Lark. I think I've heard her music, but since Sly is almost always in shotgun, he was the one changing the channels. I clicked one of the suggested links, and I skimmed through it. She has already won several awards for her music, and she's a reknowned actress and dancer. Talk about triple kill.

"Who's that?" Bentley looked over for a split second before returning to the splayed out wires of my daggers.

"Some idol. She came up when I looked up my brother's name, but I don't know why..." but that was when I found my answer.

The article read: "In her speech, Lark had thanked her friend, family, as well as the production team behind all her music, especially her main manager, Skylar Mavis." Then as I continued scrolling, I almost stopped breathing upon seeing a picture of my brother. He was smiling, suited up, and arm in arm with Katarina Lark.

"Is everything okay, Marie?" Bentley piped up again, most likely noticing the look on my face.

"I don't know anymore," I wasn't sure if I was glad that he was still alive or hurt that he never answered my calls or kept me up to date with his well being. I continued looking at different articles for more answers.

Skylar was assigned to manage Katarina about 3 years ago. Before then he had always been an assistant manager to other idols and bands within the same studio. I clicked on different pictures of Skylar with not very well-known bands. I guess his placement with Katarina was just luck working on the studio's side. Now I guess was scrolling through pictures of Skylar with other staff members. He looked so happy. Why couldn't I be happy then?

There was an article that was accompanied by one the pictures I was looking at and I decided to read on. It seemed that everything for Skylar was just sucesss after success. He didn't need to hide on the other side of the law to do it, so why couldn't I? I shook the thought from my head. I'm happy with the gang. I'm happy to joke around with Murray in the van while Bentley was helping Sly on a heist. I'm happy to help Bentley with anything only we could understand. I'm happy with just being with Sly.

I wasn't really reading at this point, so I decided to turn off the laptop. However, before signing off I noticed a particular sentence.

"No doubt that Skylar and Katya Mavis made a great team back in 20XX, such as their work with..."

I stopped reading the rest of it. Skylar and Katya Mavis? They both have the surname Mavis? We don't have any close aunts, uncles, or cousins, in fact we don't have any as far as I know. I stood up abruptly.

"Marie? What's wrong?" I hadn't notice Sly or Murray enter the room, they were playing video games in the far corner.

"Would Skylar be too young to be married or...?"

* * *

Oh sh-Mirai Akemi


	7. What are you to me?

"I hate swamps" I muttered under my breath, as I followed Sly from branch to branch. When we came a to a stop, Sly took his time taking out the keys from his bag.

"What's not to like about swamps?" Sly chuckled as he went ahead in unlocking all the locks.

"If I pushed you down into that water, you would be okay with it?" I looked at him to see if he was really Sly or a ghost who had taken possession of Sly's body.

"Point taken, but don't think that I wouldn't try to take you with me." He shrugged with a smirk before jumping down. I followed.

We both landed on the lid of the cauldron before the pressure from below pushed us off. I felt myself fall away from Sly, so I grabbed onto his cane, as it was the closest thing I could reach. He pulled me up towards him and grabbed me by the waist. We were face to face, and I must have made a face because he couldn't help but laugh. As we landed on a some sort of tooth, we were greeted by Mz Ruby.

"Mmm. I could feel that Cooper vibe coming, and a little bit of Lorian aura. Most distastefully bad juju." She seemed to be bouncing to her own beat. I wasn't really sure what she was saying.

"Yeah, well you give me the creeps too, lady. Cooking up an army of ghosts isn't a very neighbourly pastime" I said, looking around the "mouth" we were in.

"Oh, Marie. I see your mouth moving but all I hear is blah, blah, blah. Well if jaws need to flap, then let them flap. See you two in the next world." It sent a shiver down my spine when she said my name, but when she was taunting us from where she was we had no choice but to continue. Sly then let go of me before going on ahead.

Teeth were chomping down and it was causing the place to shake and tremble. Everything was wet, drenched in mucous, and was probably poisonous. I almost couldn't land some jumps, but I did eventually made it to Sly. Mz Ruby had already teleported to elsewhere.

"Come back here! You can't run away forever!" Sly called out to her.

"Quite true, quite true, Why don't have my servants Chumley and Chump escort you over here." How kind.

"What's the catch?"

"Oh, not much. Just a little game I like to play with all my _annoying_ guests, I want to see how well you pay attention."

"What do you mean?" I was becoming more and more impatient. She talks so slow I've been itching to just swim over and get things over with. But as I've observed before, it would probably kill me quicker than I could imagine.

"Well I'll unleash my mighty mojo magic upon you. If you repeat what I do, you'll dodge it just fine. If not, you'll get zapped" and her laughter boomed all througout the room.

"A little voodoo simon says, eh?" Sly looked at me, " Sounds easy enough." I gave him a look, hoping he understood what he just said.

Just then her "servants" came up to us, one in front of the other. Sly went on the one at the front, deciding that it would be safer for me behind him. I was reluctant, as I thought why couldn't they escort us side by side, but I obeyed. From behind I couldn't really tell what was going on with Mz Ruby, I was just following what Sly did. My mind wandered off onto the topic of Katarina. She's a dancer too, huh? Would what I was doing now be considered dancing? When and how did my brother get himself involved with music and dancing? Nothing felt right. I lost track of what Sly was doing when I was almost hit by some mojo magic. It felt ridiculous to call it that. I quickly regained my balance as Sly jumped off first, getting one hit in, and I followed from above to land another.

Mz Ruby had teleported again. I was panting, as I was still a bit off from almost missing the beat. Sly turned towards me.

"Are you okay? What's the matter?" he reached for my arm and I nodded.

"I just got lost in thought, sorry"

"Here? Of all times?" Sly wasn't exactly angry, more anxious or worried. He looked like he was still looking for the right words to say, but didn't really think there was before I knew it I was pulled into a hug. It felt nice and warm, but also felt like the wrong time for this. I pushed him off, but when I looked up he looked almost hurt. I was confused. Why was he getting so worked up about this now?

"Sly, now is not the time" I pulled him by the are to turn around to look at the impatient Mz Ruby. He snuck a glance back at me, before he jumped on ahead to the point Mz Ruby set up for him, and I waited for him to move to the next until I could follow. It seemed like the beat was only getting faster. As we got closer, everything was pretty much the same as the last. She teleported again, her laughter echoing all around us. Sly looked at me, this time looking torn. Something was still bothering him.

"Marie, I think I'm going to go for this one alone. I'll come back for you after, I just don't want to risk you falling"

"What? I won't fall, why are you worried about that now?" I've been right behind him during every heist for the Thievius Raccoonus, I'm not going to back out.

"Just please-"

"I've been following you this whole time, it's no different now-"

"I'm worried about you! It's different now because I can't stop worrying about you!" Sly had raised his voice in a way he's never done with anyone in the gang before. I shrunk back a bit, not used to this change in attitude. He soon realized it too.

Sly had always been someone I could depend on back at the orphanage. Not like the others weren't like that, but Sly always seemed to be there. He was there for me when my brother disappeared, and I wanted to return the favor. I've never been able to, nothing I've done was comparable to his support. Could it be said that he was like a brother? No, I don't think you could call it that. A best friend didn't fit quite well as it did with Bentley and Murray. We always called each other family, but I still don't know how to explain what Sly is to me. Regardless, I didn't want him to go through it all alone. I think somewhere in him, he was facing this same conflict.

He looked back at Mz Ruby, then up at the ceiling and he saw a mosquito coming his way. He turned to me one last time before the mosquito came around. I stared back at him, noticing some sort of resolve in his eyes.

"I'm coming back for you. Just sit back and watch the show, okay?" He tried to crack a smile, he reached for my arm, his hand tracing down it until he found my hand. He leaned in and kissed my forehead before making a running start to jump onto the mosquito's back. I was dumbfounded and frozen. My heart was beating faster than I could act,as it took a hot minute for me I realize that the mojo magic could still reach me. I hid behind a nearby rock and listened in on the beat until it was over.

* * *

I was following every beat Mz Ruby had coming for us. I wanted to say that I had no doubt in my mind that we would be just fine, but with the fact that I couldn't exactly turn back to check on Marie, I was a bit nervous. I know she gets tired of this kind of stuff from me and now she's just used to it, but I don't think I'd know what I'd do if she got hurt and I couldn't do anything to prevent it.

At first the rhythm was quite slow, which was bearable. But as we were nearing Mz Ruby, I could hear Marie yelp, almost missing the beat. My heart started racing, and I jumped off and swung at Mz Ruby. When I saw Marie jump over me to land another strike, my heartbeat slowed down a little, glad that she had recovered quick enough to strike. However Mz Ruby had escaped to another platform higher up and further away. I turned to see Marie trying to catch her breath.

"Are you okay? What's the matter?" She said she was lost in her own train of thought, and I was so confused how this one girl could give me so much anxiety. We were in the middle of Mz Ruby's little game which could mean life or death for both of us. Then I realized something was bothering her, and my guess was that it was probably her brother.

In the weeks up to this heist, she kept quiet in her room. In the dead of the night we could hear her pace around the safe-house, making tea, washing the cup, and returning to her room, as well as to her silent routine. I had peeked at her sitting at the table with her cup in hand one night. I think she'd been crying through muffled sniffles and her rush to wipe face every now and then. I looked at the girl in front of me now. She was tired and lost. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to run her back to the van so I could deal with all this myself, but I knew she'd hate that.

I pulled her into a hug, hoping she'd understand that I knew what she was stuck on. Damn it, I was so frustrated that we couldn't do anything about it at the moment. I could only think of the worst possible scenario, but then she pushed me off. Her eyebrows furrowed, she was confused. She then turned me around to remind me what we were here for, and I realized we could only move forward from here. I looked back at her, and she was more determined than ever. Trusting her for the moment, I went ahead.

We had landed another couple hits on Mz Ruby, but she was further away with no direct path. I looked down before turning to Marie. I couldn't risk it. If she got sidetracked and fell here, I don't think I'll be able to catch her. The only way across was to wait for an escort. I took the time to convince Marie to let me go ahead.

"What? I won't fall, why are you worried about that now?"

"Just please-"

"I've been following you this whole time, it's no different now-"

"I'm worried about you! It's different now because I can't stop worrying about you!" I had raised my voice a little too much, Marie flinched. Everything in me wanted to just focus on her, but I knew that Mz Ruby's little game wouldn't let me do that. I looked back up at the roof of the mouth, seeing a mosquito coming my way. I turned back to look at Marie. She was a bit hurt by the tone of my voice, and the look on her face told me she was just as worried about me as I was for her. But I don't want to finish this just to see her go back to the safe-house and not talk at all. I decided I'd go ahead, get this thing over with, and head back to Paris and hunt her brother down. Okay, that seems a little harsh, but in my defense he abandoned her to pursue a wealthy lifestyle. So maybe a little smack may be what he needs.

"I'm coming back for you. Just sit back and watch the show, okay?" I gently took her arm, tracing my hand down to hold hers. I pulled her in to kiss her forehead, just before the mosquito came around. I then jumped without hesitation as it was still moving.

The beat was faster than it was ever before. I repeated everything Mz Ruby wanted me to follow, much to her disliking. She tried changing the rhythm to catch me off guard, but it never worked. I'm getting this done now. I had flipped off the mosquito, swinging my cane down onto Mz Ruby for a final blow.

* * *

When I stood up from where I was, I could see Mz Ruby tumble down at Sly's feet.

"You've certainly got some rhythm, raccoon. But it won't help you none if you're fixing to go after the Panda King. He's tough with a capital T. If you go poking around his stronghold in China, you're likely to get poked back."

"Yeah, well if he's anything like the rest of you, I think we'll manage."

It wasn't long until he came back, as he promised. With a smiled, he presented the chapter on Slytunkhamen and his invisibility technique. I was glad that he came back, so much so that I couldn't help but hug him. I knew I didn't really have much to worry about with Sly taking the field on his own, but I just felt relieved. I felt him hug back.

Once again, sirens went off in the distance, and it was our cue to get back to the van and make our getaway.

* * *

weewoo -Mirai Akemi


	8. Only us

I woke up to my pitch black room. It was probably around 2 or 3 in the morning. I sat up, stretched and rubbed my eyes. I didn't try sleeping again since I knew I wouldn't be able to any time soon. I got up to look out the window, to see the nighttime sky.

I leaned against the window sill, looking up and at what I could see of the city. The city was always bathed in its lights, with tourists almost always around to take in the sights. I knew Sly and I were always up at night for heists, but it's not like I had the time to enjoy the view. I smiled, remininscing on our heists before our plan to recover the Thievious Raccoonus.

It always returned back to that topic. I loved the thrill of the heists, the effortless sneaking, the thorough scheme, the short-sighted egomaniac usually behind it. Even if I wasn't exactly on the field, I admired Bentley's ability to effortlessly solve problems that seem to come out of nowhere. Murray was still pretty clumsy when it came to fieldwork, but he had determination for the good of the gang. Sly always had a way with words, whether it was to make you feel bad that you took the last cookie or to make you laugh. He's great at making impromptu decisions whenever there was a rock in the road. I don't think he's that far from being a master thief, even without the Thievious Raccoonus.

But what was my position in the gang? I'm pretty sure Sly could fly through heists without me, no sweat. Bentley doesn't exactly need someone to watch his back, he's already quite the professional. Murray knows anything and everything about the van, and can fill in for Sly on the field in times of need. The thief, the brains, and the brawn. My chest felt heavy at the thought of it, because the undeniable truth was that I don't really have a place in the gang.

I probably could've lived a normal life, but it was all taken away from me. That's why I'm with the gang; they're my only family. But if Skylar can have a normal life, why can't I? I backed up from the window sill, deciding to go grab a cup of tea and try to relax if I wasn't going to sleep. However, as I opened my door I was face to face with Sly.

We both jumped back a bit, startled but not exactly surprised. He looked like he expected me to come out, but he probably didn't expect me jump as high as I did.

"Why are you up? Isn't it 2am?" I whispered, not sure if Bentley was still working on how to deal with the next Fiendish Five member, or if Murray fell asleep while eating the donuts again.

"Almost 3 o'clock. I've tried sleeping for too long and just decided I probably wouldn't. I thought I heard you pacing," he then cleared his throat, and I started to see through his lie. "Wondered if you wanted to have some tea?"

Of course a master thief in the making would be able to hear me making tea in the dead of the night. Though, if he was trying to keep it a secret that he knew, he probably wanted to just offer support without intruding. After all these years, he was quite easy to read, as was I. I nodded, giving a small smile as I closed the door behind me as quietly as I could. He returned one back, as he went ahead to the kitchen.

We spent a good 15 minutes preparing our tea and wondering why Sleepy Time wasn't working for us these days. We threw theories back in forth, most of them jokes, before concluding that raccoons were just nocturnal, plain and simple. It nice to have company tonight, even though he kept it a secret that he knew during the entire time we were trying to get Mz Ruby's pages. He had good intentions, and I appreciated that.

"So did you get any sleep tonight?" he asked me, stirring around the teabag.

"Maybe 2 hours, to be generous," I shrugged, using my mug to warm my hands. He gave me a concerned look.

"What about the night before?"

"Probably about the same time," he looked at me as if I should know better, and he was probably right.

"Any reason for that?" he asked.

"Is this an interrogation?" I tried joking with, laughing a bit. "Plus, I think you already know, that's why you're here."

He leaned back in his chair, recognizing I already knew what he was doing with me tonight. "Touché. But you can't blame me for worrying, no?"

"Maybe you worry too much about me," I teased.

"If I didn't, you would've went after your brother. Maybe even lived a normal life without us" he joking too, but it got me thinking again. A life without the gang, or a life with my brother. I hummed in response.

"He's still not answering your calls?" I shook my head and he sighed. The mood shifted, all of sudden serious. "Maybe he's still not ready."

"But it's been a decade and a half. How much time do you need after you leave your sister?" At the heart of it, I was bitter and angry. "Maybe I should just go after him..."

"You're an international criminal. I don't think that would go well," I shot him glare, no doubt they'd want him way more than they'd want me. He smirked, raising his cup to his lips.

"Be real, you just don't want me to go."

He sat there for a bit thinking about it seriously. His tapping against the cup's side made a clinking noise that seemed to be a lot louder than it should have been. He then nodded.

"Yeah that too," he didn't try to play along, I think he was telling the truth. I guess if Sly wanted to go ahead against the Fiendish Five alone, I'd probably try to smack some sense into him. But was that what he was trying to say? I felt my heartbeat pick up the pace. Sly leaned forward, looking at me in the eye. "It'd be hard to be 'the Gang' without you."

I gave him a doubtful look, sipping my tea before placing it down and clasping my hands together to stretch. Maybe I was finally becoming a bit tired.

"You're weird, Sly."

"And why is that?"

"I don't really know what to think of us," his ears perked up, and he sat up straight. It took him a moment to gather what he wanted to say.

"What do you have under the category of 'us' so far?"

"The way we were stuck at the hip back at Happy Camper. That time when you got worried about me when we were so close to Mz Ruby. When I almost got crushed by Raleigh. 'Darling'. Now." As I listed whatever came to my mind, I tried to come up of ways to piece them together.

"What do you know from that?" he prodded while I was still trying to put the puzzle together.

"You're a worrywart and I think I get in the way a lot," I scratched my head, still confused. Sly snickered at my response. "Well, do you think there's an 'us'?" He fidgeted in his seat.

"There's some kind of 'us'. I guess I don't really know what to call it either."

"Will that 'us' still be there even if I try to look for my brother?"

Sly expression dropped a little. He tried to sip his tea, but we had both already finished.

"As long as you come back safe..." he whispered, looking down. Without really thinking, I leaned in to raise his chin up so he could look at me. I took off his hat and ruffled his hair a bit, before handing it back to him.

"I will, after we get all of the Thievious Raccoonus back."

I didn't quite know it then, but I think I wanted to kiss him.

* * *

Sorry for the delay -Mirai Akemi


	9. What good is warmth if you can't be cold

I tightened the scarf around my neck as Sly and I snuck around on our way to unlock the rockets. It might just be the cold weather talking, but...

"Why are there always so many goddamn keys?" it was a rhetorical question, Sly snickered.

"I don't know you ever had something important you had to protect?" Bentley asked over the earpiece. I shrugged. We grew up in an orphanage with barely anything. The only important thing I have right now were the gang.

"I guess but I can't protect them with lock and key," I looked at Sly for his opinion, but he put his finger on his mouth, signalling me that a guy was nearby. They had their back towards us, but then turned around and shined their lantern in our direction. We both ducked down just below where the light shone. They thought nothing of it and turned back around to continue their rounds. Clearly, we had no problem slipping by in the shadows. I tried to make things a little more light-hearted, despite that we were on our way to confront the Panda King. "How many locks would you put on yours?"

"My what?" he was already unlocking the locks one by one.

"Your 'something important'," he paused for a second and looked back at me. I waited for an answer.

"I don't need any, I have my cane and she has her own little stick. We're okay," he said smiling as he unlocked the last one. I nudged him for teasing, but I was quite happy with his response. Since our talk however many nights ago, I was looking forward to more of those types of comments from him. It was easier to sleep through the night, and when I couldn't sleep, he was already brewing a cup just for me. I watched as he unlocked the last one, he turned towards me holding an arm out.

I readjusted my gloves before taking a step closer to Sly. He then used his cane to hook on to the machine, and held me by my waist, as my arms are were tightly wrapped around his torso. Like always we launched ourselves into the enemy's pit.

* * *

Upon our landing, the Panda King was already preparing himself for battle, bouncing off one leg and landing on the other as we spoke.

"I see you carry the cane of the notorious Cooper thief clan. Have you come here for revenge? To steal back the Thievius Raccoonus?" He held his head high, showing no emotion.

"That was my plan at first, but now I'm more interested in putting an end to your avalanche extortion racket." Sly said, bitter and disgusted. The Panda King scoffed.

"Why should you care if I bury a few worthless villages in snow? You are a thieves, just like me"

"That's only half right. I am a thief, from a long line of master thieves, while you..." Sly scowled, twirling his cane. He was ready to fight. "You're just a frustrated firework artist turned homicidal pyromaniac."

"Insolent child! You shall pay dearly for your disrespect! Still to honor your Cooper and Lorian ancestry, I will send you to your doom with the beauty of my new firework technique... Flame-Fu!" A mixture of rage and excitement flashed acrossed the Panda King's face.

"How considerate," I grumbled under my breath, as Sly pulled me towards the closest statue we could use to hide. From there we decided to split up, seeing that there was no way he could target us both at the same time when we're separated.

For a moment, the Panda King was focused on taking out me, which allowed Sly to sneak up onto him and land a couple hits. However, he was pushed away by the Panda King, almost landing on me. I duck in cover.

"Can you stand?" I asked still crouching low as Sly was pushing himself to get up.

"Yes, but less talk and more running," he picked me up by my arm and pulled me along. Flames flew by all around us. The heat was getting to me but I refused to back out. Pushing off Sly's hand from me, I made my way up to the Panda King. I dodged and dashed, and managed to get him a couple times. It wasn't long before Sly joined me, hitting him from one side, and I got him from the other. Like an odd game of catch. But he didn't give up that easily, he bounced us both back to opposite sides of the room.

I landed on my dominant arm. I felt a dull pain in my shoulder, but I stumbled back up. As the flames licked my tail, I started running around again. I couldn't see Sly yet, and I thought of the worst. I kept running, but he wasn't where I thought I'd find him. That was when I noticed the Panda King wasn't focused on me. Sly had snuck up from behind, and the Panda King was so startled nearly tripped over. Did he really forget one against two? I made my way over to help Sly out. I divided my sphere in half, but it seemed like Sly had already taken care of it. With another slash of his cane, the Panda King had fallen over, showing no intention of getting back up to fight.

"Your skill with that cane is unparalleled. Aaahhh!" He then passed out, and I rushed over to Sly.

"Are you okay?" I asked running up to him. I almost pushed him over when I couldn't stop myself in time. He steadied me by grabbing onto my shoulders, but at the same time he had squeezed a little too hard, and I let out a muffled cry. He immediately moved his hands from my shoulders to my arms.

"I'm fine, but are you okay?" I nodded, explaining that it was just from the push. It'd heal in time. He didn't seem to buy it.

"This is not the worse case scenario, relax," I said shrugging off his hands from me. I tried smiling to convince him. He huffed a bit. It worked for the time being.

"I bet that's not what you thought when you couldn't find me." He poked my nose, and now he was back to teasing.

"Okay, but it didn't take that long to realize you were fine! You won't believe that I'm okay this," I pointed at my shoulder, "'will just bruise." I placed my hands on my hips, Sly rolled his eyes.

"You have a low pain tolerance, I'm just looking out for you," he leaned in towards me.

"I do not! What do you know?" I took a step closer and we were nose to nose, arguing for no reason. Our debate was then interrupted.

"Sly!" Bentley called out into our earpieces. "I did a cross analysis of the metal used in that high tech blasting vehicle and it turns out it can only be found in one place - The Krack-Karov volcano in Russia. That's got to be where we'll find the fifth member of the Fiendish Five," I shared a look with Sly. Just one more mission and we were done. One more mission and we can restore the Thievius Raccoonus. "So get what you came for and let's get out of here!"

Sly took a step forward to search in the Panda King's pockets. He pulled out a couple pages, and I joined him to look at what chapter the Panda King stole. Sly flipped a page, and there were blueprints of Otto Van Cooper's old designs. I looked back up at him to see his reaction. He was smirking, most likely thinking about how Murray could upgrade the van. He looked at me after a while.

"Ready to escape the cops?" he asked, taking my hand in his. He was gentle this time, squeezing my hand lightly. Meekly, I nodded.

"Ready to get back to the warmth of the van," We shared another small laugh, before we made off into the night, not wanting to keep Bentley waiting any longer until the next heist.


	10. A fork in the road

Instead of going back to the safe-house like we usually did, we went straight to Russia (after a few pit stops in search of the final member of the Fiendish Five. I looked over Sly's shoulder as he looked through the files he had stolen in the beginning of our trip, but I don't remember much considering I fell asleep basking in the warmth of the van.

When I woke up, it was sweltering hot. My clothes were sticking to me. I kicked off my shoes to see it would change anything, but it just felt stuffy and sticky. I looked through the back of the van searching for whatever I could use to tie up my hair. When I had found a stray hairtie, Bentley greeted me good morning.

As if on cue I heard a turret go off, and explosions spurring in front of us, I realized Sly was already up there gunning down whatever was there. Murray said something about landmines and falcons. Then I heard Bentley cry out about a Death Ray. My head was spinning just from the heat, and the van felt stuffy because of it. I slumped back into the corner that I napped in, trying to calm my nerves and prevent myself from puking.

* * *

"Nice shooting, Sly! Looks like we're in the clear." Murray praised Sly as went straight ahead into the cave.

"Uh Murray, that cave doesn't look tall enough for the turret to make it all the way thro-" Sly immediately came crashing down into the van. What followed was the sounds of the turret being crushed, and ultimately falling off.

"Uh oh" Murray uttered as he continued driving.

"There's no time to waste here, we gotta keep going!" Bentley started typing away at his laptop like mad. "We got to get throught that security door on the far side of the cavern. The only way to unlock it is to analyze at least 60 of those hanging computers."

I sat up to look over Bentley's shoulder to see what exactly he was going. Sly slipped back into the shotgun seat, disappointed that we lost the turret.

"It won't be a problem with or without it. I can hack the computer's connection couplings so they'll fall to the ground. The Murray just has to run over them with the van."

I made the poor choice not to hang onto anything as Murray swerved around at full speed try to crush every single computer before whatever sludge monsters tried to get to them first. I've stopped questioning it at this point.

Sly was clutching to the seatbelt for dear life, Bentley was huddled into the corner with his laptop safe at hand, and now I was lying face up, nauseous, in the middle of the mess. Old blueprints, first aid kits, calling cards were flying around. Maybe we should clean up every once in a while.

I sat up, and crawled my way over to the front, hugging the head rest of Sly's seat.

"Are we still alive?" I grumbled.

"Oh well at least you're awake," Sly looked over at me smirking.

"I've been awake the entire time. I was just busy trying not to let loose of my insides."

"Now we have enough data to get through the security doors!" Bentley nearly jumped up to his feet he was so excited. "Just past them is the control room to Clockwerk's death ray tower... I think it's time for some Cooper thieving and sabotage, dontcha think, Sly?"

"No doubt about it," Sly leaned back, twitching his leg as he was getting ready for action. He undid his seatbelt and got ready to leave before I stopped him.

"Should I go too?" Sly paused for a minute. He was already out of the van when he looked down the room and saw something almost unbelievable. I say almost, because wherever there's Sly there'll always be-

"That's Carmelita! She looks trapped." Sly had already forgotten about what I'd asked, and Bentley decided to give his two cents.

"Serves that cop right. She's been dogging us from the start." Sly had slammed the door shut, shaking the rest of the van.

"It's just a misunderstanding. We've got to free her."

"And let her arrest you as soon as you do?" I couldn't help but side with Bentley. I didn't mean to be so cold, but as soon as we were done with Clockwerk, I had no doubt she'd be able to find her own way out. My question was left unheard.

"Are you crazy, Sly? Clockwerk probably stuck her there to trap you!"

"But if I don't do anything Carmelita is doomerd. Besides, stealing just wouldn't be any fun without her."

I shared a look with Bentley, both agreeing without words that Sly wasn't making any sense. Bentley sighed, giving into his pleas, he helped find some sort of way to get through the security. I looked over at Bentley's binocucom footage, and watched Sly jump from point to point. He was so determined to save Carmelita, I suddenly felt like I wasn't the only one anymore (But I'll admit it was quite funny to watch him sneak around in a barrel). As soon as he jumped into the chamber it was locked down.

"Sly Cooper! I should have known you were behind this." Carmelita glared down at him, ready to use her shock pistol.

"You got me wrong, Ms. Fox. I'm here to rescue you" Hm, 'Ms. Fox'. That was a new one. That was when a strange gas started to seep into the chamber, causing Sly to faint. I stood up immediately, wanting to go out there and do something, but I didn't know what to do at all. A robotic laughter echoed through the room.

"You sentimental fool! Empathy has always been the downfall of the Cooper clan." I could almost see the smile on Clockwerk's face, and it made me sick to the core.

"Bentley, what do we do about Sly?" I looked over at him, but he was already typing away.

"Looks like I'm going to have to do some fast and furious hacking to shut down that gas before Sly's brain is turned to cheese."

"Can I do anything?" I was desperate. I've been sitting in the back of the van for the entirety of this heist so far, and everyone has been able to put some work in. I wanted to do something. I needed to save Sly.

"Just sit tight, we will save him." Bentley tried to reassure me, although he was focused on hacking his way through Clockwerk's system.

* * *

I had several dreams. I was passed out on the floor, barely breathing. I knew it was a trap but I went for it anyways. I knew everyone would be panicking, Bentley trying to figure out quickly how to get me out of here alive. Murray would be in shock. Marie would probably kick herself for not following me, although there would be no way for her to get her anyways.

The first one was about the break in, my dad, and then the orphanage. A promise. It was because of Clockwerk that I lost everything. I needed to take back was mine and end what should've died a long time ago. Lucky for me, I got my best friends to back me up. A promise Marie made to me after her brother left.

The second one played off on that. I'd always been by her side, since Skylar left the orphanage. Authorities took up most of her time, and she began to fear adults. She wouldn't talk or play. She'd sleep most of the day if she could. I started following her at one point, something in me worrying about how she was holding up. I wanted to make her smile again, and tell her everything was alright. Eventually it worked, and she's here with us now.

The last one was focused of Carmelita and Marie leaving, not looking back once. She'd want to go after her brother as soon as this was over, I'm almost sure of it. The gang and I would probably continue after new heists.

If this was the end, would Marie still stay. She kept her promise. She doesn't really have any point in staying. Maybe it'd be best.

My chest was hurting, the gas continued to flood the room. Everything was starting to sting. I never got to tell her how I really felt. I don't even know how she really feels. Does she even feel anything for me? If she doesn't know, I don't think I'll ever know. If she leaves for her brother, I'll never know.

Is it time to let go?

I was starting to breathe easier. I coughed a couple times, gasping for air. I pushed myself up to face the ceiling. The gas was dissipating and the chamber was opening.

* * *

Can I make one chapter in the last 15 minutes of this game. Probably. -Mirai Akemi


	11. End of the line

I had finally calmed down, and sat beside Bentley, watching and listening through the binocucom footage to Sly and Carmelita's conversation. Upon Sly waking up, I nearly bolted out of the van. However to my surprise, Murray and Bentley were thinking much quicker than I had, and Murray plucked me and held me up so that I couldn't go anywhere. Bentley promised me I could go check on him when everything was over, and I had to settle as it was clear I wouldn't be able to get passed Clockwerk's security.

Then we heard Sly laughing as Carmelita had promised a 10 second headstart, but he didn't wait to get back his cane. I felt miserable. Usually the one who was backing him up was me. With Murray still too shy for the field, and Bentley feeling comfortable in front of his laptop, I was the second fieldman. Now Carmelita was covering his back as he jumped and flipped from place to place to get up to the Death Ray. She had a shock pistol, and I had a dinky stick in comparison.

I started biting my thumbnail, watching Sly dodge the sludge monsters and the robofalcons. I was so anxious I might try to go after him again. But as he moved up, I felt like he had already forgotten about me. I was basically sick earlier, I couldn't do anything to help and I wanted to kick myself for that. This was the heist we were all waiting for, and I couldn't join him.

As he grabbed his cane, he gave a small salute to Carmelita before rushing off. I almost fell over I was so shocked she actually complimented him. My face felt hot and I wasn't too sure why. As we saw Sly get into position, Bentley pressed the 'mic on' button.

"There's Carmelita's jetpack right where she said it would be. The Magnatronic support field for the Death Ray got destroyed as you were making a run for your cane. You'd better hurry, this whole thing is about to fall apart!"

"I'm on it!"

* * *

Murray started the engines, driving the van around, as Bentley estimated the best point of escape in the event that the volcano would erupt. I sat shotgun this time, regretting that I didn't think of wrapping the seat belt around myself at least twice. Maybe then I'd survive a car ride without having to feel ill.

As things were going as smoothly as it possibly could, I heard Bentley cry out from behind us. I ducked under the the dashboard to the floor of the van as we saw Clockwerk try to swoop in for us. He just barely scraped us, and he went straight ahead for Sly's location. I could've sworn I heard Murray utter a prayer beneath his breath. I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.

We listened in on their conversation through Bentley's laptop, as Sly was finally face to face with the final member of the Fiendish Five. He was the owl in the background of almost every single one Sly's ancestor's pictures. He attributed his age to his eternal hatred for the Cooper clan. He wanted to do anything to get rid of him, so he became immortal. Then before I realized it, he was going off about me, or rather my family.

"It's a shame you won't be going down with your other raccoon friend." I heard Clockwerk's robotic voice from Bentley's laptop.

"What does she have to do with this? As far as I know it's our feud, Clockwerk!" The robotic owl only snickered, as he tried fly right into Sly. He missed, turning to face him again.

"There was always a right hand man. Throughout your histories your ancestors could always be found together. However this time, I'm surprised it was the daughter in place of the son," I perked up, ripping off the seatbelt and jumping into the back of the van. I had to listen to what he knew about my father.

"Lorian's and Cooper's have been side by side since the beginning?" Sly asked.

"Yes, and I thought I'd stopped it when I sent that plane to the bottom of the ocean."

My heart stopped. Clockwerk had sent a whole plane of passengers to their dooms just because of my father. He did it to keep our families apart. So that he'd never have to fail at the hands of the damned duo ever again. Before I knew it, I was weeping into Bentley's shoulder. That's all there was to it. My father died to prevent me from ever meeting Sly. Then I imagined of all of the families of the rest of the passengers, and I cried harder. I hated crying, but I couldn't help it.

I couldn't listen to what Sly had said after, nor could I listen to Carmelita's support. I wiped my tears away, now angry at everything. Murray tried to console me, saying that if I needed to keep crying, I should, but I think I just wanted to be out there getting my own revenge.

I couldn't do anything, and eventually I just felt like I didn't want to do anything. All I could think about was my brother now. Did he know this? Surely he didn't, he left me for a normal life. My mind was thinking of a million things. Maybe Skylar was supposed to be the thief. Maybe I should've just stayed in school. What if Clockwerk's plan worked? My heart ached even more just thinking about that. It wasn't long until we heard the crash of Clockwerk's body into the volcano. I pushed the van doors opened and squinted hard to see Sly, with the last pages of the Thievius Raccoonus in hand, steady himself to land at the top of the cliff. Murray and Bentley quickly joined me, both calling out to Sly.

Murray waved at him haphazardly, before Bentley warned him against falling into the lava. Bentley was analyzing robofalcon parts, prying some apart to see their wirings. I was still looking up at him. I was still trying to process things, and it all hurt so badly, but I was in awe looking up at Sly who had just taken down the monster behind our broken childhoods. I was overwhelmed with a strong sense of admiration. It felt wrong to call it admiration, it was more than that.

I took the time to go over all the heists it took just to recover his Thievious Raccoonus, the legacy that had been passed down through his family through generations. I remembered his determination, his quick-wit, his comebacks. I remembered each moment he saved me, and each time I pushed myself a little more to make the fight easier for him. I was thinking that I could do almost anything for him.

My face felt warm again, and not just because of our proximity to the lava. I finally realized what exactly I was feeling. I don't think I ever felt it before, but rethinking that told me that it was lie. I felt it the entire time. I loved him. Since our childhood, I've loved him. I was overwhelmed with the feeling now. I knew just what it was and for some reason I just felt so free.

The victory was short lived, when Carmelita strutted up behind Sly. Murray started panicking, shaking Bentley around and pointing back up at Sly. Bentley tried to gently, but quickly coerce him back into the drivers seat. He also tried calling out to me, but I wanted to wait for Sly. The two were just staring at each other, when I remembered her promise of a 10 second headstart.

10\. 9.

Sly didn't make any effort to move or run away. I kept watching, hoping he'd finally start using his head and make his way down here.

8\. 7.

I started running up the cliff. I almost slipped several times on loose rocks, but I kept going regardless.

6\. 5.

For a moment I thought Sly was thinking on letting Carmelita take him in. I cursed him in my head but kept running.

4.

I had a better view of the two of them now. Sly was leaning on his cane before he stood up. I stopped in my tracks.

3.

Carmelita relaxed a little bit, and she was just as confused as everyone else.

2.

Sly tipped his hat to her. They kept staring at each other. He took a couple steps towards her, his head just in front of her pistol. I was ready to run up and pull him down myself, but that was when-

1.

They kissed, and I almost missed him handcuffing her to the railing and him pulling me with him as we made our last escape.

* * *

No. 2 coming right up -Mirai Akemi


	12. Here's to the mess we make

I was standing in front of a crowd. Everyone sat in rows, some of them were up above on the balconies. I've already seen this so many times, Why am I not used to it?

I look off to the side, and I catch a glimpse of Skylar with arms crossed, smiling. He was beaming, proud of me. The melody echoed all around the theater, and I turned back around my counterpart. He held his hand out to me, bending down on his one knee, he looked as he would fall into despair at any moment. I took a deep breath, smiled, and made my over to him.

As I sang my lines, I pulled him up towards me. His arms wrapped around me, as if he really loved me. With our faces only centimeters apart, we were still singing loud and clear for everyone to hear. My ears were ringing, but I kept singing with no pause. I was smiling, but I felt nothing. The choreography was complex yet so simple, I could hear the hushed whispers and coos from the audience.

"I wish I knew what that kind of love felt like."

"I love the way he looks at her, like she's his whole world"

"how can she sing and dance so effortlessly?"

This was the theater. A new life on the same side as the law.

* * *

Returning to my dressing room, I was greeted with my vanity filled with flowers. Most from colleagues who used to play roles in the musical, but there was always one that stood out. I looked at the one bouquet and picked it up. I plucked the calling card that was left in it. I flipped it around, just to make sure it was really his handiwork. I don't know why I doubt it. I think it's still weird to not be with him anymore, I guess. I was amazed Sly could still manage to sneak his bouquet with his calling card and not have the police on high alert whenever I have a show. I brought the bouquet and card with me as I stepped over to the garbage can.

The card read: "Wonderful as always. See you soon."

I rolled my eyes. That was probably the last thing I wanted to hear from him. I think it's been a good two years since I've seen him in person. I tossed the card into the trash, wondering if he could come to my shows why not make himself apparent. There was still an ache in my chest. It's hard to let go of someone you cared for so dearly since childhood. I didn't want to blame myself but I did. When I was about to toss the flowers out too, I heard someone at the door.

"It's always his that you throw out, but why?" I turned to look, and it was Skylar leaning against the frame. He peeked down the hall, to make sure no one else was able to hear us, and he stepped into the room closing the door behind him.

"It's therapeutic," it was, but for the first couple months.

"It doesn't seem that way from the look on your face," Skylar said pinching my cheek, and I swatted his hand away. I glared at him and he just snickered. He was trying to lighten up the mood for a bit. We talked about the show, comments from the audience as they left, my schedule for the next week. The musical's Europe tour was on it's last couple shows. After it all, Skylar told me we'd get back to recording the soundtrack. I slumped into the chair in front of the vanity, taking it all in and still holding the flowers. I looked back down at them. There were chrysanthemums, daisies, carnations, and daffodils. It was so bright, it seemed funny to imagine Sly trying to sneak them in from the shadows.

"Should I have left you with them?" that question broke my heart. I looked over at Skylar, and he looked a bit remorseful.

"And never see you again? Are you really asking me this, Skylar?" I reached over to his hand. "If I didn't audition like you asked me to, I wouldn't have seen you ever again."

* * *

The audition I was talking about took place a little less than two years ago. Not long after the Clockwerk affair. After months of searching for my brother, he finally started answering my calls from a burner phone. I opted for it over using email as per Bentley's suggestion.

"You want me to do what?" I was a bit confused about the offer he had given me within the first five minutes of us finally talking.

"I'm going to need you to meet me at a theatre. But first I'll have someone meet with you to give you new clothes. An international criminal will drag too much attention."

"But for what reason exactly?"

"You'll audition for the lead role in a brand new musical."

It went silent, as I was trying to piece everything together. My brother who hasn't spoken to me in 16 years is now a successful manager for a well known company, and now he wants his sister, who is well associated with master thievers, to audition for and hopefully play the part of the lead female role in a new musical. It felt like a milk puzzle; I didn't know how to put it together and it didn't make any sense. Why would it all play out like this.

"Listen, I know it sounds weird to meet me again with this, but just trust me. We'll lose earnings if we don't have someone from our studio to audition. With a new face, I'm sure the money will skyrocket."

"Skylar, my career involves stealing that money. You want to trust me?"

"Yeah, you're my sister. Who else do I have?"

I sighed, because he said everything I've felt ever since he left. Who else did I have? I had the gang, but I was all he had besides his stable life. Was he alone knowing that he left his sister? Did he regret it?

"Why did you leave then?"

"To set up a life for us. You think I'd let you go down the way mom and dad did?"

"I've already dealt with all that, no thanks to you!" I spat, immediately regretting it. I had let down the phone from my ear for second, to get my bearings. I paced around and peaked out my door, to see if I had drawn any attention to our conversation. I closed the door behind me before returning to our conversation.

"Listen, Marie. I'm sorry I left you in the dark for too long, but you, Sly, Bentley, and Murray had already made names for yourself when I thought about calling you back. If I could've taken you with me I would've. Living in the orphanage was probably a lot better than hiding in alleyways anyways." I kept listening.

"You don't have to audition, it's fine. I guess it would be difficult to change so quickly from a life a crime to a life on the side of the law. I get it. I just thought it'd be nice to finally give you some security."

"Can I still see my brother?" I thought about his offer a bit more. "We can meet and I'll consider it, okay?"

I felt like I could see his face light up when he immediately agreed and starting thinking of places to go. I remember asking him to still bring the disguise, and both of us laughing about who knows what else we started talking about. I missed his voice, but I couldn't wait to finally see him again.

Clearly, I still went for the audition. I thinking returning to tell the gang was the hardest part.

* * *

I was lost in thought, remembering what happened the night I was packing to leave. It felt kind of nostalgic. Then out of nowhere Skylar took the flowers from my hand.

"If that's how you feel, that's fine, but I'm not going to let you keep throwing away these flowers." He got up and made his way to the door, pulling it open.

"Skylar, they're flowers. They'll look pretty, wilt, then die."

"Then I guess I'll just have to water them regularly. I'll let you clean up and then we can go back to the hotel. Meet you outside in 15 minutes."

I watched as he left, my flowers in hand. I didn't get the point of it. What were going to do with the rest of the flowers then. When he turned a corner, I closed the door and I sighed. I stood in front of the vanity again, pulling out the bobby pins from my hair, plucking off the fake eyelashes, pulling out the mic cord from underneath my costume. I hung my costume back up, put on my own clothes, and pulled out my phone. I added the events I had scheduled for me next week onto my calendar. It was a bit scary to use it at first, as I never had one when I was living with the gang.

"A show in Versailles and a conference in Paris? I guess I'm going back a lot sooner than I thought," I murmured to myself. It seemed inevitable when the musical was taking on its first Europe tour. France seemed to be the last stop. Just a couple more shows left to do in Italy and we can head back home.

* * *

"Short" intro to no. 2 -Mirai Akemi


	13. Welcome home

"You're not leaving for good, are you?" Murray asked, trying to wipe the tears that keep spilling. I reached up to help him.

"I'm not really sure. I'll see you guys again, I will." I turned around to see Bentley, twiddling his thumbs. He was looking for the right words to say, although he was having a bit of trouble. I knelt down to give him a hug.

"Just be careful, Marie," he whispered. When I let go, I gave him a nod and smile. I reached into my bad and handed to him my binocucom and earpiece. Reluctant, he took them back.

I stood up and turned to get the luggage bag Skylar had gifted me. It was now filled with almost all my belongings. Sly came up to me, rolling it along side him. As I took it from him, our hands brushed for a split second but there was nothing more than that. He was just staring at me, as if I was going to disappear any second and cease to exist.

I guess it kind of was like that. Mariellena would cease to exist for the time being. It would be Cece Mavis for however long Skylar needed me to be. I cringed a bit thinking of the name. It was just a stage name, but when I announced it to the gang, they had their doubts. Nonetheless they had to go with it.

"You think they'll give us VIP passes if we showed up?" Sly tried to crack a joke, but we both know after all that's been going on between us, it would die out quickly and go without a laugh. I shrugged and he took a step closer towards me. We were forced to look at each other, despite the fact we had spent weeks shying away from each other's sights. I think I heard Bentley and Murray step out of the room for a bit to give us some space.

"Let's stop this here, Sly."

"Stop what? It's not like we started anything."

He was right. I looked down from his gaze. We danced around our feelings, and in the end I wasn't forward enough for him to know. The passive aggressive comments we would mention every once in a while didn't make anything better. I didn't know what it was I was feeling for the longest time, but he was waiting the entire time he got sick of waiting. But is his impatience my fault too? The blame seemed equal, but it looks like I was hurting a lot more than he was. How could someone change their mind in a short span of time?

I looked back up at him. He seemed indifferent, but in his eyes I could see that he also wanted to start something. He wanted to start whatever was between us, but with me leaving, we would lose that opportunity. So why try? He can get whatever adventure he wants from Carmelita, and on top of that it seems like the cop might feel the same for him. Me leaving would just be a catalyst for the inevitable.

"True. I'll just leave now." I turned around and made my way to the door, dragging the luggage behind me.

"Marie, I care about you. The kiss really didn't mean anything. I was playing for time, just to add some spice to the chase."

I had already opened the door and saw the car waiting for me down the road.

"Stop wasting your words, Sly. I don't think it'll help any of us right now... take care I guess."

* * *

On the ride back to the hotel, I kept on playing that night through my head. I was back home in Paris, and it felt bittersweet gazing at the tops of the buildings from the middle of the road. I didn't really know what the gang was up to anymore. The only things I heard of them was from whatever articles I happened to pass through online or in the newspapers. Their heists were becoming more elaborate, and it seemed as if Murray was taking on more jobs on the field. Somewhere deep inside, I was quite proud of them.

Upon stepping out of the car, I was blinded with a bright light for a couple seconds. I yelped and almost fell back into the car.

"Hey, back up pal. We're in town for business reasons, lay down the light for a good minute." I had gotten used to my bodyguard raising his voice, something that made me jump a lot when I had first started. It took a while to get used to the law protecting me rather than coming after me.

The bull huffed before leaving us. Skylar rushed to my side to see if I was hurt, and I had to reassure him the best that I could that I was not dying due to flashlight exposure.

It didn't take long to check into the hotel and settle into our rooms. The first thing I did was dive into bed, while Skylar spoke with my bodyguard, or rather his childhood friend. Brennan Paine was a good kid according to my brother. As a fox, he was quite good at sports and was his best friend until we were moved to the Orphanage. I didn't know much about him, although I did walk with him a couple times on the way home when my brother was sick or had to go home early for appointments. To me, he fit the bodyguard stereotype pretty well from a young age. He was tall (his bushy fox tail probably added to the size), assertive, quite handsome too. I mean if you look past the mean look he had most days.

"Marie, some of the staff and I wanted to go check out the night club just a couple minutes away. Do you want to come with?" Skylar asked, pausing his conversation with Brennan. I groaned into the pillows, and thankfully they understood my decline to the invite.

"I'll be staying in my room next door. So if you need me, just knock on the wall. Not too hard though, they seem pretty thin." Skylar chuckled at Brennan's joke. I groaned again.

Skylar announced he'll be going ahead before answering a call from his cell phone. Then it was just me and Brennan, as I turned over onto my back. We both just kind of enjoyed the silence of it all, as the past weeks were just filled with show after show, press conferences, photoshoots, and interviews.

"Don't you ever get bored of just sitting their during press conferences?" I asked, not thinking of anything in particular to talk about.

"The only thing I'm concerned about is your safety. So, yes, every damn time." I laughed at his response. I sat up, and patted the bed for him to sit down. He obliged.

I was leaning back on the headboard, and he was sitting at the foot of the bed, more relaxed than he was during the day. We talked about the weather, the show, the fans, the fans that drive us insane. It was nice that Skylar wasn't the only person I could be relaxed around regarding my identity. Although he was quite wary of me when he realized who I was before reuniting with Skylar. I never pull out my daggers anymore, nor do I have a need to really go ham and cheese with practicing self-defence, yet I still do it just in case.

We shared a couple laughs, and time seemed to pass by so quickly. It was already past midnight when I looked at the clock again.

"Didn't you say you were going to be in your room?"

"Oh, am I bothering you? You could have said something-" He rushed getting up, but I grabbed his arm by reflex.

"No no, it's fine. I just thought you wanted to rest. It's past midnight now though."

He looked over at the clock, realizing I was right. He stood there for a second, contemplating whether or not he should stay and continue talking with me or to go and rest up for the coming day.

"I think I should go anyways, plus I'm sure you had a long day too." He ran his fingers through his hair. I don't know if I was attracted to it or jealous that he seemed to have softer hair than me. I mean I had to dye and cut my hair, and continue to do so periodically, but still.

"Okay, that's fine too. Go and rest up, okay?" He smiled. He stepped closer to tousle my hair and say good night before promptly leaving. I laid back down when I heard the door close, smiling. I knew I didn't like him for sure this time, but I think it just felt nice to be around him. If I did like him, it might cause trouble for the company.

I almost shuddered at the thought, when I noticed a shadow pass by my room. I sat up in my bed, but I didn't get up. I was used to stalkers doing extreme things, but scaling the walls of the hotel building is new. After a couple seconds, I saw the shadow move closer to the window. The sihlouette was sharper now and I could see finer details. I saw a hat and cane that I knew oh so well. I jumped up to my feet, stumbling as I pushed away the curtains. I froze in shock. There was Sly, perching on the window sill and with a smile on his face.

I was rushing to open the window, my hands were shaking. When I opened the latch, I immediately felt the midnight breeze and me being tackled to the ground. Before I knew it I was pinned to the ground by my childhood friend and first love. I didn't move and neither did he. We stared at each other for however long. It was then I realized that I never knew before when I'd get to see him again. I missed him a lot more than I showed for it. I launched myself up at him, hugging him tightly, still not believing it was really Sly right in front of me. He hugged me back, pulling us up against the side of the bed.

"I promised you, right?" He whispered into my ear.

"It took you two years though."

I could feel his laughter with my head on his shoulder. He smelled the same, something I had just noticed since I last saw the gang. But he immediately pulled himself away from me when there was knock on the door.

"Hey, is everything okay. I heard a loud thump. Do I need to come in?" Brennan's voice was muffled through the door.

"I'm fine! I just got startled by a bug." I said the first thing I thought of, and Sly gave me an skeptical look. Laughter echoed from the hall.

"Do you want me to kill it?"

"No! I got it! Sorry if I bothered you." I called out again. Soon after we heard the door next door to us close, and the creaking of Brennan's bed. I let out a sigh in relief, and Sly was snickering.

We just sat and stared at each other in silence. I couldn't read him like I used to. I was trying to figure him out. Why was he here? I doubt that he came because he want to keep his promise. He was still smiling, taking it all in. He glanced at my dyed hair, the makeup, the jewellry, the rest of the get-up. I wanted to shy away from his gaze. Part of me didn't like the was admiring an artificial me. Another part was confused about why I cared.

"The colour looks nice on you," he finally said.

"It's not really Marie with dyed hair though."

"Should I call you Cece then like the rest of the world?" he tilted his head as he asked and I shuddered at the thought. It was worst than the thought of me and Brennan dating. He chuckled. "I guess not."

"But what makes you stop by on this fine night, huh?" I asked as I stood up from our spot on the floor. I made my way to the bathroom and Sly decided to make himself comfortable on the bed, leaving his cane on the floor.

"Well on my back to the safe-house, I noticed a sihlouette of a young lady and a middle-aged man in a hotel room-"

"What a pervert." I commented as I was scrubbing the makeup off my face.

"You didn't let me finish. I noticed a young lady and a middle-aged man in a hotel room, and I was worried that something horrific may occur."

"Or maybe they were having a nice conversation?" I said, muffled into the towel I was using to dry my face. When I looked up, I saw he was right behind me through the mirror. I jumped. He chuckled. I elbowed him.

"But as you can see it was all a big coincidence." Sly said, still winded by the hit.

"That not was romantic as I thought it would be." I teased, cleaning the sink before turning to leave. Sly placed his hand on the doorway, leaning against it.

"You say that as if I have to compete for your feelings."

"Maybe you do." I shoved his arm aside and went straight for the bed. I laid down staring at the ceiling, waiting for Sly's response. He quickly followed, but instead of lying down beside me, he sat the edge. He looked over at me, his face hovering over mine.

"What's that supposed to mean?" It was my turn to laugh, as I pushed him away so I could sit up. "You're telling me you have a thing for that old man?"

"Stop acting like he's a million years old. He's not much older than us." He raised his brow, and I nodded. He relaxed. "So why were you out in the first place?"

"Um, just you know... field work." I glared at him for avoiding the question. He fidgeted for a bit before admitting he was out taking recon photos.

"Of what? What's going on?"

"Listen, Bentley can tell you everything if you come back to the hideout. We've missed you."

"You want me to leave my whole team unannounced and go back to my life of crime? Doesn't that ring any alarms for anyone?"

To be honest though, I think this was what I wanted the whole time. Despite the success, I never thought I really fit in the life on the same side of the law. A part of me was waiting for Sly, Bentley, or Murray to come out from out of the shadows of my dressing room whenever I finished a show, to invite me back, or give me some shocking news about corruption in Oda Studios. I was waiting for anything to lead me back to the gang.

At the same time, it meant leaving my brother. Was it okay to disappear without a trace and have him deal with the repercussions? I've been with him long enough to understand it was never his intentions to do that to me. I think we're closer than we ever were before. So can I really just leave him like that? My chest felt heavy when I realized I'd have to make a decision between my brother and the gang.

Sly seemed to realized my conflict, he reach out to take my hand. I was hesitant, but I didn't pull back then. He hurt me in the past, yet it felt so nice. I cursed myself for being so easily swayed. I removed my hand from his, and saw how his expression faltered a bit.

"I can't forget what happened, I'm sorry."

"Marie, please don't let that make you choose not to come with us."

"That's easier said than done, Sly. Give me time. I just need a little bit more time. I need to think about it and talk to Sky."

Sly stood up and walked around the bed. I shifted towards him on the edge of the bed.

"Come to a decision soon okay. I don't think we'll be in Paris for long, but you'll know when we're gone," He turned towards me one last time, reaching for my face. "Something wrong is going one and it involves both of us, so please consider."

In one swift movement and ran for the window and jumped into the dark of the night. I got up and looked out and saw him slowly disappear into the distance, back to our hideout. He was here for a minute and then gone in the next. I didn't move for a while, I wanted to bask in the gentle night breeze. Was it already time to say goodbye to this life that I just got used to? I think so.

* * *

More action coming right up -Mirai Akemi


	14. What's left and what's right

"In other news, Looks like Cece Mavis is making a new move in her newfound singing career. After only 2 years of working on "Lie La" the musical, she's looking into recording an album of her own."

Skylar was eating dinner with me at the table, as I was looking through sheet music and lyrics that didn't seem to all fit in the right place. Every now and then I listened to whatever news station Skylar was watching. Most of it was celebrity news and I drowned it out with my own thoughts, until I heard news of my career. I didn't think my presence would grow this quickly in the theatre world or the music industry, but I guess I should've known since I had Skylar right by me.

"Katarina Lark, Cece's understudy, will temporarily take on the role of Lilah, until a full time actress will be set in stone. Notably, Skylar Mavis has been managing both upcoming stars at the same time. Quite admirable to say the least. Now we have two new young ladies ready to show the world what they got."

I looked over at Sky, he shrugged before getting up to wash his dishes. Skylar has been praised every now and then for Katarina's popularity, even by the lady herself. However, he always answered it with "all in a day's work" or "it's their talent not mine", but I don't doubt that his hard work has a lot to do with it, even for me.

"Over all the hype?" I spoke up, breaking the silence between us that the TV only seemed to fill.

"Pretty much. But if it means you guys are doing well and you're doing more, it's fine."

"You don't seem to get a break with us." I teased, piling up all all the stray papers in front of me, and leaning back into my chair.

"Well of course not, I'm related to one of my 'stars'."

We both shared a chuckle. He was organizing the kitchen, cleaning the counter tops and floors. His job doesn't stop when he gets home. He spends all day making sure all my jobs all go to plan; that all my shows go smoothly. He has spent months trying to get me out and into the light, having me practice my vocals, dance, acting, all of the works. Then at home he cooked, cleaned, and worked in between each of those chores. If I ditched to go back to Sly, would it all just be for nothing? I waited years to see my brother again, and if I left now it would all be pointless.

"One of your stars is a wanted criminal actually." Sky snickered, nodding his head.

"I'm doing my best to give you something closer to normal."

"But not everyone knew who Mariellena was. Only interpol did."

I didn't know where I was going with this. It was like poking a bear. He was bound to bite sooner or later. When I said that, Sky looked confused. He glanced at me for a second as he continued to wipe down the counter top.

"Was that better? I mean we still have more work to do with your music, and at least you don't have to run away when anyone sees you."

"I still kind of do."

Skylar sighed, frustrated as if I was missing something, but he kept his cool.

"You don't get it Marie. What Dad did isn't for us. You never know when you'll be left in the dust."

Now I was confused. Left in the dust? My only guess is that it had to do with the Coopers.

"It's not just Sly with me. There's Bentley and Murray too."

"You say that as if they're still with you. Marie, where are they? They're not here," He glanced back at me for a second, as if I were crazy to depend on the gang like I did for more than a decade. "Put that past behind you. You're not a criminal. No one is ever meant to be brought up as a criminal." Skylar's tone was deeper, as if he was getting angry.

"You asked me to leave them. I left them behind so I could finally see my brother who left me in the first place."

Sky threw the wet rag on the ground, and the slapping sound it made caused me to flinch.

"How do you know that they won't leave you for death when it comes to desperate measures?" He snapped. Skylar came up to the table, grabbing onto the chair opposite to with an iron grip.

"Because I have been with them since day one. They were my whole life. You don't know what it's like to work with them." I felt my blood boiling in me. Sure I was hurt when I left the gang, but we still had a history that I deeply cherished.

"See that was exactly what Dad thought when he worked with Coopers! So, where is he now? Look at where we are now! It's their fault, Marie!" Skylar jammed the chair into the table, and I jumped up from my seat. He immediately stepped back and caught his breath. Skylar wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Why are you blaming the Coopers?" I asked quietly. Skylar turned away from me, running his hands through his hair. "We're no different from Sly, you know that right? Both of our parents were killed by the Fiendish Five." He flinched at the name. I continued on.

"If anything Sly lost more than us. He was left all alone. At least I still have you. So how can you say it's the Coopers' fault when we're all in the same boat?"

Skylar took a deep breath and headed towards his office. He didn't look in my direction once. I just watched him as he closed and locked the door behind him.

I slumped back into the chair and stared at the papers. I debated continuing to work on my music, wondering if I would really get back with the gang after all. I buried my face into my hands and took a deep breath, before setting my hands down on the table in front of me. I ripped the empty bottom half of a music sheet and just started writing.


	15. Reunited and it feels so good

Having to redye my hair back to its natural colour was actually the most difficult part of it all. Since my conversation with Skylar, I had been slowly putting things together to meet up with the gang. I found and resharpened the blades of my staff, and I also found my old clothes in the depths of my closet. When I put it in on and looked in the mirror, it was as if I was Mariellena again... well. I was always Mariellena, but looking between my hair and my outfit, I had to fix the hair before I did anything.

I glanced at the clock and it was only 10pm. I was in the process of drying my hair when I heard a knock on my door. I nearly jumped and I immediately shut off my hair dryer.

"Marie, can we talk?" Skylar's voice was muffled through the door. I panicked.

"I'm about to get into bed, so could it wait for the morning?"

There was a short silence.

"I'd really rather not. Can I come in?" I saw the doorknob turn, and rushed towards the door. I basically ran right into it, preventing the door from opening.

"I really don't want to right now. I'm tired and I want to sleep." I said turning to put my back up against the door. I could hear Skylar shuffle around before returning to his room and locking his room. I let out a sigh, not realizing I was holding my breath. I realized then I had to work quickly and quietly if I really wanted to leave without Skylar noticing.

I cleaned up my room a bit, grabbing my old shoulder bag and only bringing the necessities. I picked up the note I wrote for Sky from my dresser. It was an apology for the most part. My heart was pounding in my chest. I hated to leave him like this. I knew very well how bad it would hurt, but in truth I was not meant for the life he laid out for me. Maybe, I thought, I would come back after I settle things with the gang. Or maybe I won't come back at all and he'll have to fake a missing persons report.

I turned towards my window, pulling away the curtain and taking a look at the city before me. Paris was crawling with guards, and it seemed like the police force couldn't do much about it. The gang was onto something, and in realizing that I felt the craving for adventure once again. I felt a twitch in me that wanted to be there to finish the heist. I could barely surpress a smile when I unlocked the hinge of the window. I took a deep breath before pulling and pushing it up, being wary of the noise it could make. I was only centimetres away from returning back to my old way of living.

I turned back to my room, taking it all in. The first time I had the closest thing to a normal life. I glanced down at the side table beside my bed, and I looked at the cellphone. I hesitated for a moment before taking it and pulling the charger in its stead. I shoved both into my shoulder bag. I don't really know why I felt like I needed it, but I trusted my gut before I pulled myself up onto the ledge of the window. Maybe I'd try calling Skylar sometime. Or maybe i'd get a call. Who knows? I smelled the fresh air you could only get from the rooftops of Paris, and I leapt from one building to the next.

* * *

I won't lie, I was a little out of practice. I almost slipped and fell to my death several times. I almost broke my legs a couple other times. I didn't even try cable walking, let alone spire jumping from point to point. I stayed up on top of the roofs and in the shadows as I needed. There were countless guards on the roofs of these buildings for no reason. I didn't try to get violent, not wanting to test my two years of out practice. Didn't want to cause a ruckus leading it to the gang.

I thought I wouldn't remember where the old hangout was, but to my luck, I wasn't too far off. I could see it only a couple metres away from where I stood in a small alley. I glanced all around me, making sure there were no guards around. I kept thinking what would be the best point of entry, but alas the only one I could think of was the front door. I couldn't sneak in through a window and enter as if I never left. I couldn't sneak in through my old room. I had to confront them sooner or later. The best chance I had was to knock on the front door.

Looking around for guard once more, I walked across the street towards the safe house. I looked all around it and it looked exactly like how I left it. The van was in the garage, so I didn't think they would be leaving any time soon. I climbed the steps up to the safe house, and I found myself at the door. Was I supposed to knock? Should I just try opening it? My questions were shortly answered when the door swung open.

"Marie?"

"You're on your way out, Bentley?" He looked so shocked to see me he almost jumped out of his shell. He blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing right.

"Y-yes, just some field work. But you're here why are you here?"

I was a bit confused. I'd thought that Sly would mention the night he saw you, but I guess that was an issue for another time. I had just realized Bentley was actually going out on the field. I guess they had to compromise for my absence somehow.

"I was here for a press conference not too far from here."

"Yeah so shouldn't you be heading elsewhere by now? I mean I guess I wouldn't know the exact details of your schedule." He scratched his head looking at me.

"Skylar actually rented an apartment here a couple years ago. I stay there in between my working days, and I only stayed at a hotel because the conference was there and it was complimentary."

Bentley perked up at the sound of Skylar's name.

"He misses you guys." It was really just an assumption, but it really seemed to make him happy. He then snapped back into the reality of things.

"I don't know if it's exactly safe for us to talk right now, I need to head out as soon as possible." He slipped right past me and headed down the staircase.

"You're on edge. Is a heist in the works?" It was a joke and I tried to crack a smile, but the turtle seemed to tremble with every second wasted.

"Yes and we only have so much time. We could actually use your expertise."

"Expertise? I've been out of work for two years." Then a resounding voice that I held so dear to me echoed all around.

"Marie! You're back!" I turned back towards the front door, and I was met with a bear hug. I was lifted right off the ground and I couldn't help hugging back.

"Murray, it's been too long." I chuckled. When I was set back down, I saw Sly stick his head out from behind Murray, giving me a wink and a small salute.

"I'm sorry but there's really no time for for an explanation or a reunion right now. Murray, let's get going. Sly, Marie, wait on my call."

Before I knew it, they were scurrying off to their first objective.

I turned to look at Sly, and when we both locked eyes he smiled.

"I still don't know what you guys are up to?"

"I'm just about ready to head out to my position. Come with me, and I'll explain on the way."

* * *

I was amazed how quickly things escalated. It was almost midnight when Sly and I were scaling the night club's peacock sign.

"So you're telling me that each member of this Klaww Gang has a different Clockwerk part? They're making bank off of pieces of a dead bird?" I didn't believe it. I was shocked that someone was even able to fish the parts from an active volcano.

"You say that, but this guy is printing money with the Clockwerk tailfeathers." Sly leapt in position and helped me up on top of the peacock head.

I grasped tightly onto his hand for support, and sat myself just behind him. He was turned towards me, waiting for Bentley's cue. I didn't have an earpiece so I was just following things as they occured. We shared a short moment of silence.

"How was the past two years for you?" Sly's tone had changed. It was gentle and soft, almost reminiscent.

"I guess it was good." I shrugged.

"That's what a newly found star calls her past two years of work?" Sly teases, and I let out a small chuckle.

"It was almost normal. There were crowds chasing me down as opposed to police officers," I joked along with him, earning a laugh from him as well. It felt good. It felt like a long time since stuff like this happened. I think I really missed it, but it still really hurts somewhere. "What did you boys do?"

"A couple heists here and there. Found a couple paintings, necklaces, gems. Even a bottle of wine back in Italy."

"You guys really pulled a heist for wine?"

"Should've seen how they worshiped a bottle like some sort of deity."

We were both laughing now. It was as if things never changed, and like I never left. Of course all good things must come to an end. Sly reached into his earpiece and stood up.

"I'm in position."

I sat back and watched as a truck drove down the centre street. The repair truck launched a harpoon up towards Sly. I almost fell back, but Sly was able to catch it.

"It's all good, Marie. Just according to plan." Sly said, trying to reasured me while he hooked the harpoon onto the head of the peacock. He helped me up before pulling me onto the cable. I held his hand all the way down, scared that if I let go that I would lose my balance. Once back down on the ground, Sly smirked at me.

"Yeah, we'll have to get you back into it." He teased.

"I'm sorry I couldn't practice while I was gone." I shot back.

Sly reached into his earpiece again, turning away from me and rushing to the front of the truck.

"Is there anyway that Murray can switch positions with Marie?" Sly asked, trying to keep his cool.

"What's going on?" I asked leaning onto the driver's window. It was pulled down a bit until I could just see Murray's eye and a bit of Bentley's head.

"Enemies have noticed us and are incoming. You guys have to protect the truck!" Bentley cried out. "Murray can't let go of the accelerator or the harpoon will come lose."

As the window was rolled back up, I looked at Sly in panic. I rushed up to him.

"Sly, like you said I'm out of it." He reached out to my arm and gave me a squeeze.

"I know but you have to trust me and take out your staff."

"I won't be able to hold any guards back."

"Okay but I can't take them out by myself. I'll be right beside." He said looking me right in the eye. Sooner than I thought, guards were running at fullspeed towards the truck. Sly looked at me and nodded and I nodded back. Sly went ahead as I rummaged through my bag for the daggers. I revealed the blades of the connected staff. I threw my bag down and kicked it under the truck, praying and hoping that the truck wouldn't need to back up as much as it has to.

As I looked back up towards the nightclub, I saw more rats coming from left and right. As one came closer to the truck, I held my staff with two hands and charged towards them. I nearly fell back on impact, but I was able to recover. They fell back onto the building, knocking out cold. I heard more coming from behind me and I spun my staff around causing them to stop in their tracks. I charged again, swinging my staff to try and hit them its sides, and trying for a stab between several swings.

I missed a lot, but I also got a lot more hits in than I thought I would. By the time the coast was clear, I took a moment to catch my breath and look around. However when I tried I was pushed back so hard I fell onto the ground. Everything started shaking, and dust obscured my view. Just after that I felt something hover over me and it went dark. It was only a couple seconds until everything went back to normal.

I opened my eyes and saw blue, but as the weight was lifted off I realized it was Sly that pushed me. As he got off, I saw that the peacock head had fallen onto the fountain just in front of the nightclub. I guess Sly, pushed me from getting caught in it all. I got up, wiping off any dirt that had got on me.

"Behold the majesty of gravity and inertia!" Bentley cried out gesturing to the scene before him. I smiled a bit. He was just proud of his work.

"That was real subtle, Bentley."

"Ok you jump in, grab the Clockwerk tail feathers and we're out of here!"

Sly turned back towards me.

"Are you coming with?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I'd rather not try to be any means of a distraction. I just barely kept up before this." Part of me wanted to go

and be the support like always, but I felt like I would just hold him back. It was just retrieving the tail feathers, but even if whoever was behind all this was going to try and get in the way, Sly would be fine.

"Okay, suit yourself." He gave a small wave with two fingers before hopping right into the fountain.

"Let's head back to the safehouse and get the van up and ready before the cops show up." Bentley said, ushering me to follow him. Murray squeezed out of the truck and followed suit.

Time to get the show on the road.

* * *

This game is like 10 hours long wish me luck -Mirai Akemi


	16. Back to the good old days

Just a few weeks ago, I could stay in hotels without having to use a credit card under a fake identity, but now I was already back in the habit of it. Well given that the credit card was never mine, maybe I never really changed. I leaned on the balcony and looked out at the resort we managed to get into. I looked at the balcony next to mine and saw Bentley intensely tapping away at his laptop.

"Where's Murray and Sly?" I asked loud enough for him to hear from across the small gap between our rooms.

"Murray went down to the buffet and Sly is who knows where, but I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"How have you been Bentley? I never really got the chance to ask." I watched as he was meticulously inputing codes at such high speed.

"Not too bad. I've just recently started working on the field and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. It's still scary, but it's okay."

"I'm sorry." Before I could really think about it I was apologizing for leaving them. Bentley glanced up at me, but returned his gaze back onto his laptop. He gave a wry smile.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later. Whether you stayed or left, I just had to step up to the plate. But there's no doubt that it'll lift the burden of most things with you back." I smiled, nodding along and admiring his reassuring words. "Why did you choose to come back in the first place?"

"Sly found my hotel room back in Paris. He said he was coming back from taking recon photos. He wouldn't tell me what was going on, but that I should come back and see you guys."

"That guy," Bentley snickered,"I don't think he has ever stopped thinking about you since you left."

I tilted my head in confusion. I leaned my head on my hand and probed the subject further.

"What makes you say that?"

"He doesn't really know how to delete browser history. He watched clips of your musical online, and on top of that he listened to the original cast recording of your musical thousands of times."

"But didn't he come to see me perform on multiple occasions?"

"Actually we all saw you once, by his suggestion. During your tour, whenever we were nearby working on something, he'd always disappear right after a heist. I'm telling you, you got some gears going on in his head."

I gave him a look, understanding the connotations behind what he just said and he just smiled and shrugged. It was just a guess, but Bentley's guesses are rarely wrong. I refused to let myself hope for anything or have expectations. I was still hurt, but for the sake of ending Clockwerk once and for all, I'll set it aside. Perhaps we'll both gain some sense out of it and just carry on as childhood friends. It was sad yeah, but it was just best to move on.

I pushed myself back from the railing and headed back into my hotel room. I picked up my phone and saw several missed calls from Skylar and Brennan. I had already listened to all of Skylar's voicemails, but I couldn't bring myself to call him back. I wasn't sure if he would yell or if he would be calm and understanding of my choice. I believed in more of the former, but I could dream right? Brennan texted several times just asking where I was and if I was okay. He didn't press any harder after that.

The more I thought about it the more I felt bad. I even considered calling Brennan to pick me up for a second. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. I set my phone back down and decided to leave my room to explore the resort.

It was beautiful. Probably one of bests we snuck into. I didn't see Murray when I passed the buffet, so I guessed he probably went back up to hid room. I still didn't know where Sly was and I suddenly felt the need to try to look for him. I went up to the highest floor, taking in the view I could see from the windows as I stepped off the elevator. I looked around for stairs to the rooftop, and luckily enough I found them. When I trudged through all of them, I finally made it to the rooftop.

Closing the door behind me, I scanned the area, and I found Sly's hat just by the rooftop door. I picked it up and looked around once more, but didn't find Sly. That was until I saw him on the roof of the rooftop door, sitting up and looking down at me.

"Took you long enough." He said before he laid back down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were expecting me." I answered, climbing the ladder I found on the side and stepping up to him. I stared down at him. He had his eyes closed and he was using his arms as support for his head. "You look rather relaxed."

"Not in the slightest. Bentley hasn't cracked down on where our next target is yet." He said that all with his eyes closed. I decided to set myself down beside him and lie down as well. The sky was orange with hints of red all around. The sun was taking its time to set, but it was quite the sight to see. A shame that Sly wasn't looking at it too.

"Then why are you up here in the first place?" I asked him.

"Just to think, pass time, maybe talk."

"What's there to think about?"

"Apologizing properly. I never gave you enough time to just be upset and let you think."

"I think you apologized enough. I don't really want to talk about it. It's done now."

He turned his head to look over at me.

"No hard feelings?"

"Nope. It's been two years, I should be fine by now."

"No romantic feelings either?" He sat up and leaned over a bit to look down at me. I looked him right in the eyes and paused for a minute to think.

"You can dream." We both laughed a bit, but Sly still seemed to be a bit lost."There's no room for romance in either of my lines of work."

Sly turned back to look at the view beyond us.

"You somehow became more uptight when you weren't going against the law."

"It's still running away though. I need to be cautious of my own actions."

"What if you had someone to look out for you."

"I already have you guys, and Skylar if he isn't completely mad at me."

I sat up with him, and he gave me a confused look.

"I thought you talked to him." I shook my head, look down at the resort, people slowly retreating back inside to rest, others coming out for an evening swim.

"He made that life for me because he hated our thieving reputation. I don't blame him for not understanding, and at the same time I guess I was missing something too." I looked back at him and he was already looking at me.

For a few short moments we were just looking at each other. Sly had a different look in his eyes, despite us not seeing each for only 2 short years. He seemed to have changed a lot, maybe more than me. I gave him his cap, and he took it and placed it back on it's rightful place on his bedhead. He set his gaze back on me and smiled.

"You're a bit more mature, but still the exact same." I laughed.

"I could say the same for you."

We talked about everything that night. It was like I had my best friend again. We talked about my career, gossiped a bit about the other actors and actresses, the heists I missed, the corrupt baddies they've always seemed to find themselves up against. We talked into the night, and I fell asleep somewhere in between all that. I woke up the next day back in my bed. I sat up and I looked around and found nothing else had been touched. I laid back down thinking about the night before. The weight that I felt when I left, and when I liked Sly, suddenly disappeared overnight. I could breathe again. I smiled looking over at the sunrise before getting up to hit the road once again.

* * *

"Illegal spices? Are they cooking up a mean curry or what?"

I woke up to Bentley bringing up information he'd found on the next Klaww Gang member, Rajan. The road to India wasn't exactly short.

"Well he started as a young child, eventually earning him a spot in the Klaww Gang as his operation grew." Bentley elaborated. I sat up from my slumped position in the back of the van.

"He's pretty stuck in his head. 'Lord of the Hills'?" Sly said putting his arm over the front seat and looking back at Bentley.

"He tries to convince others of his royalty, but it's mostly just to convince himself." Bentley said clicking through different windows of his research on his laptop. "He'll be holding a lavish ball in his newly purchased 'ancestral' palace. His reason? To show off his latest acquisition; the Clockwerk wings."

"Oh, that'll be quite the haul." I said, trying to imagine how we'll manage to lug it back with us without raising suscpicion. "Does Rajan think the wings will be bringing any kind of prestige? I mean there are probably nicer things out there."

"Well, maybe they will. But they're also bringing me." Sly said from the front seat, and I could hear the mix of determination and excitement in his voice. He was serious yet at the same time he wanted adventure. I had missed so much, but seeing everyone get ready for a big heist like they always used to made me feel so much better.

By the time we found a hideout, we were rushed to work. Bentley already had an idea where to start, so he sent out Sly into the field almost immediately. I sat down at the table beside Murray and Bentley was already underway with Sly's break into the palace. When Bentley turned off his mic and binocucom view, I leaned onto the table and scanned the blueprints he already obtained.

"Why the rush?" I asked looking back up at him, as he was following the tracking on Sly's binocucom and glancing at the blueprints and guard schedules in between.

"As I had anticipated, we have arrived just hours from the start of the ball. Since tonight is the only night to get them, we gotta move fast."

"Oh well, I love a challenge." I leaned back in my chair, already excited to get back onto the field. Bentley gave me a torn look.

"I don't think we can just have you get back on the field immediately. We're going to have to ease you in with some simpler tasks, but given that you're a quick learner, it shouldn't take that long."

Bentley shortly returned back to Sly's mission, urging him to take pictures of the guests to see who we were dealing with. I understood what Bentley meant but I was still skeptical as to what Bentley meant by simpler tasks. I could fight and I could still do many things I've done before. I sat up as Bentley asked Sly to return back to the Safehouse.

"What exactly can I do then?" I asked as he turned away from his computer and back to the table as we awaited Sly's return.

"I believe I can turn the situation to our advantage. There's no doubt that there's something you'll be able to do." Bentley said reving up the projector for a quick briefing.

"I can still fight and I can still climb, Bentley." I pushed further just to see if he could cave in and tell me.

"I know, but it's not just me worried for your safety. We're all worried." He glanced over at Murray, when I looked at him he was nodding along.

"Don't worry Marie, The Murray has got it covered." His rambunctious attitude was contagious. He held his hand out for a high-five, and when I tried to return it with just as much strength as him, I could've sworn he was going to snap my arm off. He was laughing, and I couldn't help but laugh a long.

"Is there a party going on in here too?" Sly asked, stepping into the hideout.

"Nope, just a briefing. Hurry and settle yourself in." Bentley said, stepping up to the other side of the table where the projector screen. Sly settled himself right beside me, ready to listen in on the plan.


End file.
